Patricky Freire vs. Ryan Couture Set for Bellator 148 on Jan. 29

Sherdog.com confirmed the lightweight matchup with a Bellator
official following an initial report from
MMAJunkie.com. Freire replaces the injured Derek
Anderson in the bout, although Anderson-Couture was never
officially announced by the California-based promotion. Bellator
148 takes place at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., and is
headlined by a welterweight tussle between Paul Daley and
Andy
Uhrich.

Freire, 29, has alternated wins and losses in his last four
outings. Most recently, the elder Brazilian “Pitbull” brother
dropped a split decision against Anderson at Bellator 147 on Dec.
4. Freire is 7-6 under in the Bellator cage since beginning his
promotional tenure in 2011.

A UFC and Strikeforce veteran, Couture enters the matchup on a
four-fight winning streak. He made his Bellator debut in September
2014, submitting Tommy
Bagnasco with a first-round rear-naked choke. He followed that
performance by choking out Dakota
Cochrane inside of a round in his last outing at Bellator
135.